Caerphilly

infobox UK place
country = Wales
welsh_name = Caerffili
constituency_welsh_assembly =
latitude= 51.578
longitude= -3.218
official_name = Caerphilly
unitary_wales = Caerphilly
lieutenancy_wales = Gwent
constituency_westminster = Caerphilly
post_town = CAERPHILLY
postcode_district = CF83
postcode_area = CF
dial_code = 029
os_grid_reference = ST175975
population = 31,060

Caerphilly ( _cy. Caerffili) is a town in the county borough of Caerphilly, south Wales, located at the bottom of the Rhymney Valley, with a population of approximately 31,000. It is a commuter town of Cardiff and Newport. It is about 2-3 miles north of the Cardiff suburbs of Lisvane and Rhiwbina, separated by Caerphilly Mountain. It is traditionally within the county of Glamorgan, on the border with Monmouthshire and it is the largest town in the county borough of Caerphilly, which since 2003 has formed part of the lieutenancy area of Gwent. The town gives its name to Caerphilly cheese, which originated in the area.

Caerphilly is the site of Caerphilly Castle [http://www.castlewales.com/caerphil.html] , built between 1268 and 1271, which is the largest castle in Wales, and second largest in Britain (after Windsor).Fact|date=April 2007 In 1899 the Rhymney Railway built their maintenance facilities; however, the expansion of the population in the nineteenth century was more to do with the increasing market for coal. Caerphilly hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1950.

Caerphilly is featured in the Sex Pistols documentary "The Filth and the Fury". Protests and a prayer meeting were held outside the Castle Cinema on the evening of December 14, 1976, when the Pistols were playing a concert there. At this point in time, Caerphilly was one of the few councils that would allow the group to perform (Leeds and Manchester being the others).

Caerphilly is the birthplace of Tommy Cooper,cite web|url=http://justlikethat.homestead.com/Index.html|title="Tommy Cooper",] and it was home to Nottingham Forest and Wales star Robert Earnshaw, following his family's move from Zambia. Dennis Spargo, creator of the film "", lived in Caerphilly for several years until 2006.

The town has a rugby union club, Caerphilly RFC, who play in Division 1 EAST of the Welsh National League.

During the summer, the town hosts The Big Cheese [ [http://www.caerphilly.gov.uk/bigcheese/ The Big Cheese ] ] festival and a fundraising musical event called Megaday. [ [http://www.megaday.net/ Megaday website] ]

Transport

The A469 trunk road runs through the town north to south, while the A468 skirts the northern boundary of the town. Caerphilly has two railway stations; Caerphilly at the southern end of the town near the shopping area, and Aber in the western part of the town, both on the Rhymney Line serving Cardiff.

Network Rail propose that a new station be built in Energlyn to support residential development in that part of the towncite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7425812.stm|title= 'Far reaching' Wales rail vision on bbc.co.uk] .

Twin towns

* - Ludwigsburg (Germany) since 1960
* - Pisek (Czech Republic) since 1994
* - Lannion (France)

See also

Caer

References

External links

* [http://www.caerphillynet.co.uk Caerphilly Net]
* [http://www.caerphillyrugby.com Caerphilly RFC]
* [http://morningtonmeadows.tripod.com/ Mornington Meadows community site]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOZlJiOvXsU/ YouTube: Ali G visits Caerphilly Castle.]
* [http://www.caerphilly.org The Caerphilly Woodlands Trust]
* [http://www.megaday.net Caerphilly Megaday]
* [http://www.caerphilly.gov.uk/bigcheese/ The Big Cheese festival]
* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=2760598 www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Caerphilly and surrounding area]